Bridling attachment for a rolling mill

ABSTRACT

Improved bridling attachment for a rolling mill generally comprised of an underslung and movable carriage with its upper and lower portions respectively disposed above and beneath a lower series of bridle rolls and with the upper carriage portions connected to an upper series of bridle rolls whereby upon advancement of the underslung carriage the upper bridle rolls can be moved relative to the lower bridle rolls for selectively tensioning a fed length of sheet therebetween without injury to the fed sheet and/or attachment such as excessive stretching of the sheet or scratching of a bridle roll.

United States Tatent m1 Elgert et a1.

[54] BRIDLING ATTACHMENT FOR A ROLLING MILL [75] Inventors: Albert H. Elgert, Walnut Creek; Lee D. Hermes, Castro Valley, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation, Oakland, Calif.

22 Filed: Jan. 31, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 222,166

[52] U.S. Cl. ..72/205 [51] Int. Cl. ..B2lb 39/08 [58] Field of Search ..72/205, 199, 250,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,432,828 12/1947 Stone ..72/160 [111 3,73 69 [4 1 May 22, 1973 Steinhardt ..72/164 Freeze ..72/l63 Primary Examiner-Milton S. Mehr Att0rneyPaul E. Calrow [57] ABSTRACT Improved bridling attachment for a rolling mill generally comprised of an underslung and movable carriage with its upper and lower portions respectively disposed above and beneath a lower series of bridle rolls and with the upper carriage portions connected to an upper series of bridle rolls whereby upon advancement of the underslung carriage the upper bridle rolls can be moved relative to the lower bridle rolls for selectively tensioning a fed length of sheet therebetween without injury to the fed sheet and/or attachment such as excessive stretching of the sheet or scratching of a bridle roll.

14 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures Patented May 22, 1973 3,733,869

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 Sheets-Shoot 2 Patented May 22, 1973 Patented May 22, 1973 5 Shee'is-Shcot 5 Patented May 22. 1973 5 Shouts-Shut 4 FIG.II

Patented May 22, 1973 FIG.?

I BRIDLING ATTACHMENT FOR A ROLLING MILL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a bridling attachment for a rolling mill. More particularly it relates to an improved bridling attachment for a rolling mill having an improved arrangement of opposed series of lower and upper bridle rolls for selectively tensioning a length of sheet between the rolls upon advancement of a length of sheet therebetween. I

In the past, bridle roll attachments have been designed for rolling mills as exemplified by the US. Pats. Nos. 2,092,480; 2,096,713; and 2,768,542. These prior bridle roll attachments are comprised of adjustable upper carriages for carrying a series of upper bridle rolls so as to effect tensioning of a length of sheet between the opposed upper and lower series of bridle rolls. Although the upper carriage is in a sense capable of selectively tensioning a length of strip between the opposed series of upper and lower rolls, this upper carriage of the prior art was not capable of rigidly supporting the upper bridle rolls so as to maintain the tensioned sheet at a desired tension level throughout advancement of the sheet length through the bridle roll attachment.

This invention generally relates to an improved bridle roll attachment for a rolling mill generally comprised of opposed series of upper and lower bridle rolls and an underslung movable carriage having portions disposed beneath the lower bridle rolls and other portions disposed above the lower bridle rolls and connected to the upper series of rolls. A guide arrangement slidably connects the underslung carriage to the attachment whereby the underslung carriage together with the upper bridle rolls are movable from a raised position to a predetermined lowered position so as to effect selected tensioning of a length of strip between the opposed series of bridle rolls as well as to maintain the upper series of bridle rolls in the predetermined lowered position during advancement of the strip between the rolls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary purpose of the instant invention is to provide an improved bridle roll attachment for selectively tensioning a length of metal sheet such as aluminum alloy prior to the tensioned length of sheet passing through the rolling mill.

The attachment is generally comprised of opposed upper and lower series of bridle rolls interposed between opposed sides of a framework. An underslung and movable carriage has its upper and lower portions disposed above and beneath the lower series of bridle rolls with the upper carriage portions being connected to the upper series of bridle rolls.

The underslung carriage preferably includes a linkage and actuator assembly for effecting advancement of the carriage together with the upper series of rolls between raised and lowered positions with respect to the lower series of rolls and for effecting selective tensioning of a length of sheet between the opposed series of upper and lower rolls. The attachment advantageously includes a guide arrangement for guiding the carriage between raised and lowered positions as well as for maintaining the carriage in centered relationship between the attachment framework.

An adjustable jack device is operatively associated with the carriage for supporting and engaging the carriage together with the upper series of rolls in a predetermined lowered position.

A series of auxiliary pass line roll assemblies are preferably connected to the carriage for supporting and engaging the bottom side of a length of sheet as it is advanced through the attachment between the opposed series of upper and lower bridle rolls when the series of auxiliary rolls are in a raised position.

The present attachment can be slidably mounted on the millstand so as to enable movement of the attachment in a direction towards or away from the millstand, such as for servicing the attachment, for example, replacement and/or repair of various parts of the attachment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevational and diagrammatic view with parts broken away and illustrates a rolling mill embodying the bridle roll attachment of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational and schematic view similar to FIG. I with parts broken away and illustrates in dotted and solid lines lowered and raised portions of the underslung carriage of the instant bridle attachment;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view with parts broken away as taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a reduced side elevational and schematic view with parts broken away and illustrates in dotted and solid lines different mounting positions of the present attachment;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view as taken along line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. I;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view along line 6-6 of FIG. I;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged end view with portions broken away as taken along line 77 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view as taken along line 8-8 of FIG. '7;

FIG. 8A is a reduced cross sectional view taken along line SA-SA of FIG. 8;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view with parts broken away as taken along line @9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. Id is a cross sectional view with portions broken away and taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. II is an enlarged sectional view of the jack device as taken along line II-I1 of FIG. I.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION With further reference to FIGS. 1II of the drawings they illustrate a preferred embodiment of a bridling attachment III for a rolling mill which attachment effects selective tensioning of a length of metal sheet stock S such as aluminum alloy in improved fashion. The instant attachment is generally symmetrical about the longitudinal and transverse axes thereof such that description of one side of the attachment will suffice unless otherwise specified below.

The rolling mill 12 is made up of the usual opposed pairs of work rolls and backup rolls 1% and 2t and a stand 22 to which all of the opposed pairs of rolls I8 and 20 are mounted in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1. Attachment 10 can be provided with a conventional pinch roll assembly 13 at the inlet end of the attachment for initially engaging and feeding a length of sheet S through the attachment prior to the leading end of the sheet being engaged between the work rolls id of rolling mill 12. The attachment Ml is generally comprised of a framework 24 having opposed side plates 26 the right hand edges of which are interposed between the opposed upstanding posts 28 at the entrance of mill stand 22 of mill 12 as viewed in FIG. 1. A pair of parallel spaced hollow box-type beams 27 and 27 are inter-- posed between and connected to opposed inside surface portions of the opposed plates 26 at their lower edges so as to hold the opposed plates 26 in spaced relationship to each other in the manner shown in M65. 1 and 3.

The opposed series of three lower and upper bridle rolls 30 and 32 extend between opposed side plates 26 and are disposed in offset relationship to each other. An underslung and movable carriage 34 is interposed between opposed side plates 2s and has its lower portions disposed below the lower series of bridle rolls 3d and its upper portions disposed above the lower series of bridle rolls. The upper carriage portions are connected to the upper series of rolls 32 for advancing the upper series of rolls between raised and lowered positions with respect to the lower series of rolls 3% as a length of strip S is passed between the opposed series of rolls 30 and 32. An actuator and linkage assembly 35 is disposed beneath and connected to carriage 34 for effecting advancement of carriage 3d between raised and lowered positions. Each one of the bridle rolls 30 or 32 can be of hollow construction such as shown in FIG. 3 of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,542.

Three sets of auxiliary or pass-line roll assemblies 36 extend between and are connected to the upper carriage portions beneath the upper bridle rolls. These sets of auxiliary roll assemblies engage and support a fed length of sheet through and along the workpiece passline of the attachment Ml without injury to the attachment or sheet when the carriage is in a raised position. A jack device 37 is operatively associated with the carriage 34 for engaging and supporting the carriage 34 when the carriage is in a predetermined lowered position during operation of attachment lid. A guide arrangement 38 is interposed between and connected to a framework side plate 26 and the associated end of carriage 34 on each side of attachment ill for guiding and centering the carriage as the carriage is advanced between raised and lowered positions during operation of the attachment. As viewed in FIGS. ll, 3 and -6, a mechanism 40 slidably mounts attachment Hill on the mill stand posts 28 at the entrance of mill 12 in order to enable advancement of the attachment in a direction towards or away from mill l2 such as for removal and- /or servicing of the attachment.

An opposed outer reduced end 44 of each one of the lower bridle rolls 30 of the series thereof is of approximately square-shaped configuration in transverse section as depicted in FIGS. 3A and 8-9. Opposed U- shaped retainers as are affixed to opposed and horizontally aligned inner surface portions of opposed side plates 26 in the manner illustrated in lFlGS. ll, 7 and 8A-9. A T-shaped bar 48 is affixed to inner surface portions of its associated side plate as as well as being affixed to and extending between the upper ends of its respective retainer 66 after the shaft reduced end 44 of a roll 46 is inserted in the retainer recess.

In an advantageous embodiment of attachment 10 it includes an underslung and movable carriage 3d. The carriage is generally comprised of a pair of spaced lbeams 5% and a box beam 52 interposed between the pair of spaced l-beams. The box beam 52 and opposed pair of l-beams $0 extend between the opposed side plates 26. Opposite ends of beam 52 and I-beams 50 are mounted on opposed pairs of longitudinally extending and relatively spaced l-beams 54 as depicted in FlGS. l and 7. Opposite sides of carriage 34 include opposed upstanding plates 56 of multi-forked or multifingered construction. A fork plate 56 is suitably affixed at its lower edge to the associated ends of the beams 50, 5t) and 52 at either one of the opposite sides of carriage 34 as well as to the respective outer flanged edges of the outermost beam 54 at either one of the opposite sides thereof as indicated in FIGS. 1, 7 and 9.

A given fork plate 56 is provided with a plurality of three upstanding parallel spaced forks 58. Each fork 58 has a width somewhat less than the distance between diametrically opposed surface portions of adjoining lower bridle rolls 30 so that a fork 58 can be freely inserted between adjoining lower rolls 30 in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 9. The depth of a recess between adjoining fork elements 58 of a fork plate 56 is such that upon a given plate 56 being affixed to its respective side of carriage 34 the lower portions of the given plate adjacent and below the bottom of a recess thereof are amply clear of the bottom of the adjacent lower bridle roll when the carriage and the opposed fork plates thereof are in a fully raised position, as shown in FIGS. 1-2 and 9.

Each one of the upper rolls 32 of the series of three thereof is rotatably mounted between opposed and aligned pair of forks 58 of opposed fork plates 56 at their upper ends as shown in H68. 1, 7 and 9. A U- shaped retainer 60 is affixed to the inside face of a fork 58 at its upper end. Upon inserting an outer reduced end 4% of an upper roll 32 into the recess of a retainer 6h, a bar as is disposed across the opposed upper ends of its associated retainer and is suitably affixed to the inside surface of the associated fork 58 at its upper end. The inside surface portion of each fork 5% at its upper end can be partially cut away so as to define a channel shaped groove 61 for facilitating attachment of a retainer 60 and its respective cap or bar 62 to a given fork element 58 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9. Upon rotatably and individually mounting each one of the series of three upper rolls between its respective pair of opposed and aligned retainers db and between its associated pair of opposed fork elements, the series of three upper bridle rolls 32 are disposed in opposed and offset relationship to the lower series of three bridle rolls 32., as shown in FlGS. li-2 and 9.

Each set of auxiliary roll assemblies 36 is made up of a series of three roll assemblies 36 interposed between and connected to opposed and aligned pairs of forks 58 at the lower ends of the pair thereof. A retainer has a plurality of three upwardly faced longitudinally spaced channel-shaped grooves 72. Retainer 70 is affixed to the inside surface portion of a fork 58 at its lower end as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 6-7. The inside surface portion of a fork 5% at its lower end may be provided with a horizontally disposed channel-shaped groove '74 for receiving a retainer 7d. For reasons that will become more fully apparent hereinafter the plurality of three grooves 72 in a given retainer ill are of progressively shallower depth as viewed from left to right in FIGS. 1 and 9.

An auxiliary roll assembly 36 of a given set of roll assemblies 36 is comprised of a shaft 68 having reduced and square-shaped outer ends 76. A series of wheels 78 and a series of spacers 80 are disposed about a shaft 68 between its ends and are arranged in alternate fashion therebetween as depicted in FIGS. 7 and 10. The alternated series of wheels 78 and spacers 80 of a roll assembly 36 of a set of three roll assemblies are mounted on their respective shaft 68 in such fashion that a wheel and spacer subassembly of the alternated series of wheels and spacers of a roll assembly of a given set of roll assemblies is disposed in reversed and opposed relation to the directly opposed and reversed spacer and wheel subassembly respectively of the adjoining reversely alternated series of spacers and wheels of an adjacent roll assembly of the given set of roll assemblies. The alternated series of spacers and wheels of a roll assembly 36 of a given set of roll assemblies in being disposed in reversed and opposed relation to the adjacent and reversely alternated series of spacers and wheels of the adjoining roll assembly of the given set of roll assemblies provides an effective conveyor pathway over which a length of sheet S may be fed and supported without injury to the sheet and/or attachment 10.

An alternated series of spacers and wheels 80 and 78 may be retained at either end of its associated shaft 68 by way of an annular retainer or collar 82 and a washer 84 as indicated in FIGS. 7 and 10. As indicated in FIG. 10, the relative diameters of a wheel of a roll assembly of a given set 36 and the immediately opposed and adjacent spacer of an adjoining roll assembly 36 of the given set are such that there is ample clearance between the wheel and the immediately opposed spacer of an adjoining roll assembly.

Two T-shaped bars 71 and 71' and a rectangular bar 73 are associated with a roll assembly set 36 at either end thereof. Upon insertion of each roll assembly of a set of three roll assemblies 36 between and into their respective opposed and aligned pair of recesses 72 of the opposed and aligned pair of retainers 73, a T- shaped bar 71, 71 or rectangular bar 73 closes off the upper end of its respective groove 74 of the series of three grooves of a given retainer and is individually affixed to its associated fork 58 within its groove 74, thereby rotatably mounting a given set of three roll assemblies 36 between opposed and aligned pairs of forks 58 of carriage 34 as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 9.

The location of the channel-shaped groove 74 at the lower end of a fork 58 on the inside surface thereof is such that upon a set of three roll assemblies 36 being affixed between opposed and aligned pair of forks 58, the upper portions of the series of wheels 78 of the leading or lefthand roll assembly of the set of roll assemblies 36 are spaced from and disposed above the upper portions of the adjacent lefthand or righthand lower bridle roll when the carriage 34 is in a fully raised position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9. At the same time, upon the carriage being disposed in a raised position, the progressively elevated series of three roll assemblies 36 of a set of roll assemblies progressively raises a length of sheet S when it is fed from left to right across the tops of the overall series of staggered and offset wheels 78 of a given set of roll assemblies 36, as viewed from left to right in FIGS. 1 and 9. This raising of a length of sheet as it passes from left to right across a lower bridle roll 30 and an adjacent set of roll assemblies disposed in a raised position effectively minimizes the possibility that a fed length of sheet, particularly the leading edge thereof, will become trapped or otherwise damaged between a lower bridle roll and an adjacent set of roll assemblies. Hence a set of auxiliary rolls 36 acts as an effective ramp or bridge adjacent a lower bridle roll whereby an auxiliary set of rolls 36 enables a length of sheet to be smoothly transferred from a lower bridle roll to an adjacent set of auxiliary rolls 36 when the auxiliary rolls 36 are disposed in a raised position during operation of attachment 10.

Carriage 34 advantageously includes an actuator mechanism 35. Actuator mechanism 35 is generally comprised of two pairs of links 86 and 87 and two pairs of rotary cranks 88 and 89 (only one link 86 or 87 and only one crank 88 or 89 are shown for the sake of brevity in FIG. 1). The upper end of a link 86 or 87 which is interposed between and pivotally connected by way of a pin pushing assembly 92 to its associated longitudinal ends of a pair of opposed beams 54 disposed on either side of carriage 34 as viewed in FIGS. 1-2 and 7. Each one of the pair of cranks 88 is affixed to the outer ends of a sleeve 94. The sleeve is disposed about a shaft 96 and connected at its outer ends to shaft 96. Opposed trunnions 98 only one of which is shown in FIG. 4 are affixed to the trailing side of lefthand beam 27 at the outer ends thereof. Upon affixing a trunnion to its respective end of beam 27 on the righthand side thereof, the trunnion is adapted to receive at its upper apertured end the associated outer end of shaft 96. The upper portion of each crank 88 is pivotally and individually connected to the lower end of its respective one of the pair of links 86.

Opposed righthand pair of cranks 89 are also affixed to opposed ends of another sleeve 94 which in turn is disposed about another shaft 96 that is connected to opposed and righthand pair of trunnions 98. Righthand trunnions 98 are disposed on the righthand side of beam 27 at its outer ends. The upper portion of a given crank 89 is pivotally connected to the lower end of its respective righthand link 87. A link 102 of T-shaped configuration extends between and is interconnected to the lower ends of longitudinally aligned cranks 88 and 89 disposed on either side of attachment as shown in FIGS. 1-3.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 a bifurcated bracket 106 is affixed to the bottom of beam 27 on either side of attachment 10 and is disposed in longitudinal alignment with a crank 109. Crank 109 is affixed about righthand sleeve 94 and disposed inwardly of crank 89 on either side of attachment 10 as viewed in FIGS. I and 3. Actuator 104 is comprised ofa cylinder 105 and a piston rod assembly 108 associated therewith. One end of cylinder 105 is pivotally connected to bracket 106 and the outer end of the rod of the piston rod assembly is pivotally connected to its respective crank 109. Upon actuation of actuator 104, cranks 109 and 89 are simultaneously rotated in either direction about righthand sleeve 94. Because of interconnecting link 102 between cranks 88 and 89, crank 88, upon rotation of crank 89 about its righthand sleeve 94 during actuation'of actuator 104, is correspondingly rotated about its lefthand sleeve 94. At the same time links 86 and 87 translate simultaneous and corresponding rotary motion of cranks 88 and 89 into linear motion. Such linear movement of links 86 and 87 causes corresponding linear movement of underslung carriage 34 together with rolls 32 and 36 between raised and lowered positions with respect to lower bridle rolls 30.

In another advantageous embodiment of attachment 10, it includes a guide arrangement 38 for guiding and stabilizing the carriage 34 as the carriage is advanced between raised and lowered positions during operation of attachment 10. Guide arrangement 38 is generally comprised of three pairs of selectively spaced and vertically arranged ways 118. A series of three U-shaped vertical grooves 120 are provided on the inside surface portions of each framework side plate at the upper end thereof. The longitudinal center lines of adjoining grooves 120 on a given plate 26 are spaced at a distance relative to each other substantially corresponding to the distance between the adjacent longitudinal center lines of adjoining fork elements 58 of a given fork 56 as depicted in FIGS. 1-2. The series of three grooves 120 of a plate 26 are located between the leading and trailing edges thereof such that the longitudinal center line of the intermediate groove 12d of the series of three grooves is generally centered between the longitudinal axes of sleeves 94 and 94 of actuator cranks 88 and 89 as illustrated in FIGS. 1-2.

Each pair of ways 118 are suitably affixed to its respective plate 26 within a groove 120 thereof as illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, 7-8 and 10. The thickness of a way 118 is less than the distance between the bottomof the groove 120 of a side plate 26 and the outer surface portion of an opposed and adjacent fork element 58 of the associated fork plate 56 thereby providing ample clearance between the opposed outer surfaces of a pair of ways 118 and the fork element 58 of an associated fork plate 56 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10.

The guide arrangement 38 includes a plurality of four guide blocks 122 operatively associated with the three pairs of ways 118 on each side of attachment 10. Each one of three guide blocks of the plurality of four guide blocks are disposed at the upper end of a fork element 58. The upper end of a fork element 58 on the outer surface thereof is provided with a horizontally extending channel-shaped groove 123 for receiving an upper guide block 122. A hearing cap screw assembly 123 securely attaches an upper guide block 122 to its respective fork element 58 in appropriate fashion as shown in FIG. 7. The three upper guide blocks 122 are preferably disposed in horizontally aligned relation at the upper ends of the forks 58 of a plate 56 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. A fourth and lower guide block 122 of the plurality of four guide blocks is preferably affixed in similar fashion to the intermediate fork element 58 of a plate 56 on each side of attachment 10 beneath the upper guide block 122 affixed to the intermediate fork element 58 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7-8. Each one of the guide blocks 122 of the plurality of four guide blocks is slidably fitted between its respective pair of ways when a carriage 34 is interposed between framework plates 26 at their upper ends during assembly of carriage 34 between side plates 26. Because of the cooperative action between the three pairs of ways 118 and the plurality of four guide blocks 122 on each side of the attachment, carriage 34 is smoothly guided for vertical movement between raised and lowered positions while at the time it is effectively restrained against excessive lateral shifting, rocking and- /or twisting upon vertical movement of the carriage between raised and lowered positions during operation of attachment 10.

A bar 124 suitably affixed to the inside surface of a framework plate 26 at the upper end of a groove serves as a stop for limiting the upward travel of carriage 34 when an upper guide block of carriage 34 abuts stop bar 124 in the manner shown in FIGS. 7-8. The vertical height of a groove 120 of a plate 26 is such that the bottom edge of a lower guide block 122 would at most abut the shoulder 125 defining the lower end of the groove when carriage 34 is in its fully lowered position.

An adjustable jack device 37 is advantageously mounted on the top of beam 27' at either end thereof for engaging and supporting carriage 36 in a predetermined lowered position during use of attachment 10. The jack device 37 is comprised of an elongated worm feed screw 124, a worm gear 126 threadably connected to the upper end of screw 124 and a driven worm pinion 128 gear-connected to gear 126 as indicated in FIG. 11. The lower end of screw 124 is inserted through the aperture 127 in the top plate 128' of beam 127'. A sleeve bearing 129 is disposed about screw 124 and interposed between gear 126 and the top plate of beam 27' for supporting and engaging gear 126 upon insertion of the lower end of screw 124 through the aperture 127 in the top plate of beam 27'. A housing 130 encloses the upper end of screw 124, worm gear 126, worm screw 138, etc., such that the uppermost extremity of screw 124 normally projects through the opening in the top plate of housing 130. A sleeve bearing 132 may be disposed about screw 124 and interposed between the top plate of housing 130 and the top side of gear 126. The outer end of worm pinion 128 projects through an opening (not shown) in the side wall of housing 132 and is connected to the output shaft (not shown) of a drive motor 134 as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 11. A housing 132' may be connected to the underside of a top plate 128 of beam 127' and encloses the lower end of screw 12 1. A pad 138 affixed to the underneath side of carriage box beam 52 at either end thereof is disposed in vertical alignment with the top of its associated screw element 124 as indicated in FIGS. 1-2, 7 and 1 1. Upon actuation of motor 134 it causes rotation of shaft 128 and gear 126 which rotation of gear 126 advances screw element 124 until the upper end of the screw element is advanced to a preselected raised or lowered position above the top plate of housing 130. Upon actuation of actuator 35 for lowering carriage 36 and upon adjustment of jack device 37, the carriage is advanced from a raised position to a lowered position until a carriage pad 138 abuts the top of the adjusted screw 124 of its associated device 37 thereby support ing and rigidifying the carriage in a predetermined lowered position. If desired, screw element 124 of a device 37 can be provided with a stop (not shown) for preventing the lowering of the screw beneath the top plate of housing 130.

In another advantageous embodiment of attachment 10 it is provided with a mechanism 40 for slidably mounting the attachment between leading stand posts 28 of mill 12. Each one of the inner surface portions of an entrance mill stand post 28 is provided with a horizontal channel-shaped groove that is adapted to receive a horizontally disposed way block 138. Way block 138 is affixed to itsassociated mill stand post 28 in appropriate fashion. The lower edge of a side plate 26 is provided with an outwardly extending horizontal flange 140 as indicated in FIGS. -6. Upon interposition of opposed side plates 26 between opposed inside faces of opposed mill stand post 28 at the entrance of mill 12, flange 140 of a side plate 26 slidably engages the top of its respective way block 138. At the same time lower outer surface portions 141 of a side plate 26 beneath its flange 140 is disposed in slidable contact with opposed outer surface portions of the associated way block 138.

Mechanism 40 includes a fluid actuator 142 made up of a cylinder 144 and a piston rod subassembly 146 connected thereto. The outer free end of the piston rod of piston rod subassembly is pivotally connected to the lower apertured end of the aforementioned trunnion 98 of beam 27 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-4. The nonpiston rod subassembly end of cylinder 144 is pivotally connected to the upper forked end of an L-shaped bracket 148 as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6. The lefthand lower end 150 of L-shaped bracket 148 is provided with a horizontally disposed dovetailed recess. The inside surface portion of a way block 138 at its lower righthand end includes a raised horizontally extending boss 152 of dovetail shape in transverse section as depicted in FIGS. 3 and 6. Upon slidably connecting the dovetailed recessed end 150 of bracket 148 to the raised dovetail-shaped boss 152 of way block 138, actuator 142 is connected between trunnion 98 of beam 27 and raised boss 152 of way block 138. A series of cap screws 153 are threadably connected to the dovetail end 150 of bracket 148 for abutting top surface portions of its respective boss 152 so as to secure the bracket to the boss associated therewith, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.

Mechanism 40 includes a tubular shaft assembly 160 and a gear rack 158 connected thereto. The outer reduced end 156 of shaft 160 extends between opposed way blocks 138 and are journably mounted within opposed and transversely aligned openings 161 therein, as viewed in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5. Rack 158 is afflxed to the lower end of a side plate 26 as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 5-6. A sprocket gear 164 is affixed to each outer reduced end 156 of shaft 160 and is disposed in geared mating engagement with its associated rack 158. Upon simultaneous actuation of actuators 142 disposed on opposite sides of attachment 10, opposed rods 146 are advanced relative to cylinders 144, thereby causing corresponding advancement of side plates 26, carriage 34, etc., relative to leading stand posts 28 of mill 12 as indicated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5-6. Such advancement of plates 26 relative to leading stand posts 28 depending upon the extension or retraction of rods 146 with respect to cylinders 144 causes advancement of attachment in a direction towards or away from the leading stand posts. When attachment 10 is fully advanced towards leading stand posts, it is in an operating position for receiving and tensioning a length of sheet S as indicated in solid lines in FIGS. 1-3. At the same time, because of the advancement of side plates 26 between and relative to leading stand posts 28, a rack 158 affixed to a given side plate is correspondingly advanced so as to cause rotation of its associated gear 164 about shaft 160 at either end thereof. This rotation of a gear 164 at either end of shaft 160 maintains the simultaneous extensions of the opposed actuator rods 146 in synchronized relation to each other, thereby effectively preventing binding of attachment 10 between entry stand posts 28 upon movement of attachment 10 relative to mill 12.

In an operative embodiment of attachment 10 a length of sheet S is initially fed therethrough when carriage 34 is in a lowered position. During initial feeding of the length of sheet S through attachment 10 auxiliary series of rolls 36 serve to protect attachment l0 and sheet S from injury as aforedescribed. Upon actuating actuator 35 for lowering carriage 34, it is lowered together with upper bridle rolls 32 and auxiliary rolls 36 from a raised position to a lowered position. Assuming that screw element 124 of jack device 37 has been properly preset prior to lowering of carriage 34, the carriage is lowered until carriage pad 138' engages the upper end of its associated screw element 124 thereby rigidly supporting carriage in a predetermined lowered position so that the upper and lower bridle rolls selectively tension a length of sheet S therebetween. In the event a tensioned length of sheet S becomes over or under-tensioned such as due to changes in thickness or metallurgical characteristics of sheet S, jack device 37 can be readily operated for raising or lowering jack screw 124 and in turn carriage 34 from a lowered position to another lowered position without interruption in the continuous advancement of sheet S through bridle l0 and mill 12.

Whenever bridle attachment 10 requires servicing such as repair and/or replacement of a bridle roll 30 or 32, actuator 142 of mechanism 40 can be actuated for moving attachment 10 per se in a direction outwardly of opposed mill stand posts at the entry or bridle side of mill 12 as indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 3A. Hence, the improved bridle attachment of the present invention constitutes a highly versatile and readily serviceable unit.

Various advantageous embodiments of the bridling attachment have been shown and described and modification can be made therein without departing from the inventive concepts set forth herein wherein:

What is claimed is:

1. A bridling attachment for a rolling mill, said attachment comprising a framework having opposed side plates connected to the entry end of a rolling mill, an opposed series of lower and upper bridle rolls interposed and extending between said side plates with the upper rolls being arranged in offset relationship to the lower rolls, said lower series of bridle rolls being rotatably mounted between said side plates beneath the pass line of a workpiece, an underslung carriage for said upper rolls interposed between said side plates and having lower portions disposed beneath said lower series of bridle rolls, said carriage at its opposite ends including opposed fork means extending upwardly from said lower portions to and connected with said upper series of bridle rolls while at the same time freely extending through and between said lower series of bridle rolls, and an actuator means connected to said carriage for supporting and advancing said carriage together with said fork means and said upper series of bridle rolls between raised and lowered positions with respect to said lower series of bridle rolls such that said upper and lower series of bridle rolls selectively engage and tension a length of sheet interposed therebetween when said upper series of bridle rolls are in a lowered position.

2. A bridling attachment for a rolling mill as set forth in claim 1 including guide means for slidably interconnecting a fork means and a side plate associated therewith.

3. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 2 in which said guide means is comprised of a pair of ways and a guide block slidably fitted therebetween.

4. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 including a retainer means for rotatably mounting a lower bridle roll between said side plates.

5. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 including a retainer means for rotatably mounting an upper bridle roll between said fork means.

6. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said actuator means includes an adjustable jack means for engaging and supporting said carriage so as to maintain said carriage in a predetermined lowered position.

7. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said actuator means is comprised of a fluid actuator.

8. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said actuator means is comprised of an actuating linkage and a rotatable crank assembly connected thereto.

9. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said carriage includes a set of auxiliary roll assemblies made up of a series of three auxiliary roll assemblies for engaging and supporting a length of sheet as the sheet is fed through said attachment when said carriage is in a raised position.

10. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 9 in which said set of auxiliary roll assemblies are disposed beneath said upper series of bridle rolls and disposed adjacent to said lower series of bridle rolls when said carriage is in a raised position.

11. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 9 in which an auxiliary roll assembly of said set is comprised of an alternated series of wheel and spacer elements disposed in reversed and opposed relation to the reversed and alternated series of adjacent spacer and wheel elements of an adjoining auxiliary roll assembly thereof.

12. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said framework includes a slidable mounting means for effecting movement of said attachment in a direction towards and away from the entry end of a rolling mill. 1

13. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 12 in which said slidable mounting means is comprised of a rack and gear means.

14. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 12 in which said slidable mounting means includes an actuator means. 

1. A bridling attachment for a rolling mill, said attachment comprising a framework having opposed side plates connected to the entry end of a rolling mill, an opposed series of lower and upper bridle rolls interposed and extending between said side plates with the upper rolls being arranged in offset relationship to the lower rolls, said lower series of bridle rolls being rotatably mounted between said side plates beneath the pass line of a workpiece, an underslung carriage for said upper rolls interposed between said side plates and having lower portions disposed beneath said lower series of bridle rolls, said carriage at its opposite ends including opposed fork means extending upwardly from said lower portions to and connected with said upper series of bridle rolls while at the same time freely extending through and between said lower series of bridle rolls, and an actuator means connected to said carriage for supporting and advancing said carriage together with said fork means and said upper series of bridle rolls between raised and lowered positions with respect to said lower series of bridle rolls such that said upper and lower series of bridle rolls selectively engage and tension a length of sheet interposed therebetween when said upper series of bridle rolls are in a lowered position.
 2. A bridling attachment for a rolling mill as set forth in claim 1 including guide means for slidably interconnecting a fork means and a side plate associated therewith.
 3. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 2 in which said guide means is comprised of a pair of ways and a guide block slidably fitted therebetweEn.
 4. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 including a retainer means for rotatably mounting a lower bridle roll between said side plates.
 5. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 including a retainer means for rotatably mounting an upper bridle roll between said fork means.
 6. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said actuator means includes an adjustable jack means for engaging and supporting said carriage so as to maintain said carriage in a predetermined lowered position.
 7. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said actuator means is comprised of a fluid actuator.
 8. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said actuator means is comprised of an actuating linkage and a rotatable crank assembly connected thereto.
 9. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said carriage includes a set of auxiliary roll assemblies made up of a series of three auxiliary roll assemblies for engaging and supporting a length of sheet as the sheet is fed through said attachment when said carriage is in a raised position.
 10. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 9 in which said set of auxiliary roll assemblies are disposed beneath said upper series of bridle rolls and disposed adjacent to said lower series of bridle rolls when said carriage is in a raised position.
 11. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 9 in which an auxiliary roll assembly of said set is comprised of an alternated series of wheel and spacer elements disposed in reversed and opposed relation to the reversed and alternated series of adjacent spacer and wheel elements of an adjoining auxiliary roll assembly thereof.
 12. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 1 in which said framework includes a slidable mounting means for effecting movement of said attachment in a direction towards and away from the entry end of a rolling mill.
 13. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 12 in which said slidable mounting means is comprised of a rack and gear means.
 14. A bridling attachment as set forth in claim 12 in which said slidable mounting means includes an actuator means. 